We Will Be Heard
Community Members Respond to
San Jose Police Department Press Conference
Story by Adrian Avila // Photos by G.Melesaine // Video by Angel Luna

The San Jose Police Department held a press conference this past Monday in which San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis disputed the allegations made by Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard that the SJPD has been receiving serious complaints by community members and not responding accordingly. Complaints range from general troubles with the way the officers interacted with them, racial discrimination and excessive force.  

Davis stated that a “finer police department” would be hard to find in this nation, and that although there is room for improvement, the police department was doing a great job with only 211 complaints that were made in 2006 out of about a million face-to-face potential encounters.

“ Look at the numbers,” Davis said to a room filled with media reporters as well as 20 plus community members that came out to hear what Davis had to say about the so called “safe city.” Community members of all walks of life entered the room quietly and respectfully holding signs that read “NO MORE TASING” and “Justice For the Custodio Family,“ with the intention to make it known that the community has a voice and wants to be heard.

The problem was that the police department had no intention of hearing this voice. Almost immediately after entering the room the City Manager's Public Outreach Manager Tom Manheim, took out a member of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability and made it clear that they were not to disrupt the press conference.

It was a obvious sign of fear when Manheim, at this point very nervous and irritated, took CJA member out the second time and was very threatening in his manner of speaking and made it clear that the community members had no voice at this press conference.

Among the community members was Marilou Custodio, who was a victim of police brutality when her and her two sons were victims of excessive force by the police. In a press conference, which was held following the department's conference, Marilou Custodio spoke on the incident that occurred on February 5 th where both of her sons were tased by officers in the Evergreen area of San Jose. When Marilou inquired as to why her sons had been arrested and tased, the officers took her into custody and banged her head on the hood of a cop car. “They tried to intimidate me… they grabbed my hair and told me this ‘Shut F••• up,'” Marilou recalled in a heroic voice. If this powerful voice, that illustrates the injustice of the police department, was not allowed to be heard in a press conference where they were defending the greatness of the their officers. One can only imagine all the other ways they keep us from knowing the truth.

One thing was shown that day, and that was that the community has a voice and a strong one at that, and it will be heard because in the end it is the people of this city that the police must ultimately be accountable to.

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